In recent years, information I/O devices have been installed in vehicles, and mobile communication systems have been proposed to perform data communications between such I/O devices and an information management center. Using this sort of mobile communication system while in a vehicle, the idea is to perform a variety of services, such as restaurant reservations.
For example, in the reservation system from a vehicle-mounted terminal disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 4-213761, a configuration is proposed that specifies a service shop based on the position information of multiple service shops, road traffic jam information, vehicle position information, road map information, and the service shop and desired visiting time thereof selected by the vehicle passenger, and calculates the estimated time of arrival at the service shop. Namely, from the desired visiting time entered by the user and the current time, the time required until the desired visiting time is calculated, and the distance that can be reached by the desired time is calculated from the required time and road traffic jam information. Then, the reachable place names are determined from this distance information and transmitted to the information center. At the information center, a list of applicable service shops based on this data is prepared and transmitted in reply to the vehicle. The user selects a desired shop from the displayed list of service shops and the selection is transmitted to the information center. When this data is received at the information center, the reservation data, such as an ordered item or arrival time, is transferred to the selected service shop. According to this configuration, some situations can be avoided, such as when a specific restaurant is reserved and the arrival time is delayed excessively due to the road being congested beyond expectation, thereby enabling optimum service for the vehicle passenger.
However, enjoyment of a motoring excursion includes situations when one desires not just to reach a certain final location within a prescribed time period, but to visit multiple facilities within a prescribed time period. For example, a driving plan may include visits to a zoo, amusement park, sightseeing spots, and so forth, which end in returning home the same day. In the aforementioned prior art, this sort of schedule for visiting multiple facilities within a prescribed time period can not be planned. Furthermore, for some travelers, there are instances where no specific facilities have been specified and the only thing that has been decided is the purpose of the trip (for example, sightseeing or family outing). In this case as well, it is impossible to automatically prepare a schedule fitting the travel purpose.
Furthermore, even after the expected time of arrival was calculated and a service shop was specified, an instance may arise where the schedule including the specified service shop becomes unsuitable, possibly as a result of changes in road conditions or weather. In such a case, a problem arises in that schedule revisions, such as reservation cancellations or reservation time modifications for the service shop, are not performed in the aforementioned prior art invention, and the user must revise the schedule by again inputting the requirements and making new reservations.